[Le Flaneur]

My girlfriend is hesitating between the "older" 1.0 GHz 15" PB ($1750 on amazon.com, $1650 after rebate) and the latest 1.33 GHz 15" PB ($2000).

The "older" model would need an AirPort card, so the price difference is $250 after rebate.

For $250, she would get:

1. A 33% faster processor
2. An ATI 9700 video chip instead of a 9600
3. Possibly improvements in the underlying design.

Am I missing anything? Despite these marginal improvements, I'm leaning toward advising her to get the 1.33 GHz model because she wants to keep her PB for 3 years.

[0s and 1s]

Is your GF (or you) a student? If so, you could get the discount for the newer PBs. I'd go with the 1.33.

[Le Flaneur]

Originally posted by 0s and 1s:
Is your GF (or you) a student? If so, you could get the discount for the newer PBs. I'd go with the 1.33.

I could get the 1.33 at the edu discount -- it's $1800 -- but after sales tax, the difference between buying the PB through mailorder without paying sales tax and the edu discount (obligatorily with sales tax) is a measly $43.

[CheesePuff]

Originally posted by Le Flaneur:
I could get the 1.33 at the edu discount -- it's $1800 -- but after sales tax, the difference between buying the PB through mailorder without paying sales tax and the edu discount (obligatorily with sales tax) is a measly $43.

With that $43 savings get it to get either the 5400 RPM hard drive or the 128 MB VRAM upgrade, since she wants it to last 3 years.

[Le Flaneur]

Originally posted by CheesePuff:
With that $43 savings get it to get either the 5400 RPM hard drive or the 128 MB VRAM upgrade, since she wants it to last 3 years.

The extra VRAM is not available on the 1.33 model. But of what importance is the 128 MB VRAM upgrade? I thought that that would only make a difference to gamers. I'm also not convinced that the 5400rpm hard drive is worth the extra money -- I've compared the 4200 40 GB in my PB G4/867 with a 5400 rpm / 8 MB / 40 GB IBM/Hitachi, and the speed difference is minimal. The only hard drive upgrade that would be worth the extra money would be the 7200 rpm 60 GB Toshiba ...

[0s and 1s]

Someone mentioned that Small Dog electronics offers Edu. Discount AND no sales tax. Is this true? If so, you should give them a try! With the edu. discount, you could get a 5400rpm 80gb drive for $113 instead of the stock 4500rpm 60 drive. Other than that, there's not much you could do with the 1.33. I recommend purchasing the ADC discount for students ($99) that enables you to purchase a computer with a 20% discount! Keep in mind that this offer is good only once in the lifetime of your membership, so use it wisely!

I purchased a 1.5ghz, combo, 80gb 5400rpm HD, 128vram, 512mb 1 so-dimm stick, 15.2" PB w/ tax and shipping for 2150. I'm sure you could do wonders with the discount on a 1.33.

[Lateralus]

How is she on the idea of the 12" model?

With the same 1.33GHz chip, it is a fantastic deal. Possibly one of the best performance/dollar PowerBooks ever made.

And it is so small.

[Le Flaneur]

Originally posted by 0s and 1s:
Someone mentioned that Small Dog electronics offers Edu. Discount AND no sales tax. Is this true? If so, you should give them a try! With the edu. discount, you could get a 5400rpm 80gb drive for $113 instead of the stock 4500rpm 60 drive. Other than that, there's not much you could do with the 1.33.

So you think that Small Dog does BTO?

I purchased a 1.5ghz, combo, 80gb 5400rpm HD, 128vram, 512mb 1 so-dimm stick, 15.2" PB w/ tax and shipping for 2150. I'm sure you could do wonders with the discount on a 1.33.

That must be with the 20% ADC discount. I just priced this configuration through the Apple Store for Education, and it is $2299 before tax.

[Le Flaneur]

Originally posted by PowerMacMan:
How is she on the idea of the 12" model?

Well, it is small and light, but it has a tiny screen. And someone at the SoHo Apple Store has her mostly convinced that unless she plans to tote the 12" all over the place, the larger screen on the 15" will be a big advantage. I tend to agree.

[Le Flaneur]

Originally posted by 0s and 1s:
I purchased a 1.5ghz, combo, 80gb 5400rpm HD, 128vram, 512mb 1 so-dimm stick, 15.2" PB w/ tax and shipping for 2150.

What good would 128 MB of VRAM do? Is it mainly for gamers?

[biposto]

Originally posted by Le Flaneur:
What good would 128 MB of VRAM do? Is it mainly for gamers?

Yep

[0s and 1s]

Small Dog PB prices

Here's a current price list at SD. There are some BTO configurations on the site already. I believe you have to call them for Edu. Discount. Contact Page

good luck.

[Le Flaneur]

Originally posted by 0s and 1s:
I believe you have to call them for Edu. Discount. Contact Page

Nope. To get the edu prices, you HAVE to buy from the Apple Store from Education. This was confirmed by Small Dog.

[0s and 1s]

D'oh. Sorry about that.

[selowitch]

Originally posted by biposto:
Yep

Also good if you want to use monitor spanning on an external screen, which effectively cuts your VRAM in half to a mere 64MB RAM -- still good for supporting Quartz Extreme.

[Le Flaneur]

Originally posted by selowitch:
Also good if you want to use monitor spanning on an external screen, which effectively cuts your VRAM in half to a mere 64MB RAM -- still good for supporting Quartz Extreme.

I can't think of a situation with monitor spanning where 64MB of VRAM wouldn't be enough. Can you?

[Lateralus]

Originally posted by Le Flaneur:
I can't think of a situation with monitor spanning where 64MB of VRAM wouldn't be enough. Can you?

Yes.

[selowitch]

Well, look at it this way: Most users won't notice a difference, but:

1. There may be future applications that run better with more VRAM;
2. More VRAM will certainly ensure a high level of performance and the quickest refresh rates possible;
3. Suppose you wanted to drive more than one external display, say, by using a multisplitter adapter?

But you're also correct to point out that most users won't notice much difference. On the other hand, the VRAM upgrade is pretty cheap, and it might be a selling point when it comes time to trade in this particular laptop.